


Speak Easy

by The_Wonderful_Jinx



Series: Don't Speak [1]
Category: The Black Tapes Podcast
Genre: Angst, BUT I WISH IT WAS CANON BECAUSE STRAND DESERVES IT, Fighting, Gen, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Non-Canonical Violence, Not Beta Read, Pining, Pining Strand, Regret, Strand gets punched in the face, Strand is a thirsty idiot, non Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-15
Updated: 2015-10-15
Packaged: 2018-04-26 12:35:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5005015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Wonderful_Jinx/pseuds/The_Wonderful_Jinx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Strand always chooses his words wisely. He knows the consequences of running his mouth all too well. But in the heat of the moment, he forgets his very credo. And the repercussions are dire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Speak Easy

“I don’t know how else to say it without speaking as clearly as possible Alex!” Is what he says. But the bite behind his words feel as though he said _‘How blind can you be you fucking idiot’_. What’s worse, he knew she heard the double-meaning too.

Strand’s heart stops. No sooner had he said those words, he wanted to reel them back into his head and keep them there forever until he was underground. He’d take it back, every condescending remark or sarcastic, snide comment that ever graced her recordings, he’d take it all. He’d take them like vaccinations at the doctor’s, all so he wouldn’t have to see that blank, emotionless expression on her face.

Alex just stares at him, mouth slightly agape in shock, eyes wide. Lost, like a hiker in the woods with a ruined map. Time slows around them; Nic hovers close behind her, the interns gathering around the office space and peeking through the glass crawl at a snail’s pace. Breathing is a chore, everyone he draws feels like he’s swallowing sand and salt water.

Alex blinks. And time snaps back to the natural order, to a reality he created. She the intrepid reported, the paragon for belief. He the dark knight for skepticism, tasked to impede her journey to the truth. Every hero needs an antagonist. And every villain thinks he’s the hero of the story.

Alex draws a ragged breath. Her shoulders shiver and he can see tears gathering in the corner of her dark eyes. His heart kick starts. He reaches out to wipe her tears away, thinking this simple gesture will win her back. All the other ones did; the little jokes to ease the tension, the coffee outings he would force her to go so she could take a break from work, the food he bought over to the office when she was too overworked to eat, and how he would always make sure she got home safe after pulling another late shift in the office. They always made her smile, rewarded with a pat on a shoulder and a hearty thank you.

Alex flinches and shies away from his touch, wrapping her arms tightly around herself like a blanket. She chokes back a sob. His hearts shatters for the second time in his life, this time he doesn’t think he can fix it. But he’d be damned if he doesn’t try. He reaches out to her again. He has to try.

“Alex, Im sorry-”

Quick as lightening, she strikes. Her right fist swings up and forward. It connects where the bridge of his nose and glasses meet with a ghastly crunch. For a moment, the hit doesn’t register. He doesn’t even realized she hit him until he feels blood dripping down his face and tasting it on his lips. His vision is blurry. And the pain finally kicks in. It’s a cocktail of a sinus and a migraine headache violently shaken with shards of broken glass.

He’s on the ground and he’s screaming at her. And she’s on top of him, screaming right back at him, pinning his shoulders to the floor. Everyone springs to action. Interns flood the room. Nic and two interns pull her off of him and take her to her office to calm her down. Two interns pull Strand away, helping him up to his feet and guiding him to a chair. One intern runs to get medical supplies for Strand. Three more interns are scrambling to the stop the recording in time to salvage the audio for the podcast (they succeed just in the nick of time). The rest linger around, weighing the damage and whispering.

An intern, a tall woman with her hair pulled into a bun finds his glasses. Miraculously, the glass isn’t broken. The frame is bent in some places, but he can wear it for a few days until he can get a replacement. He thanks the intern. Her smile is thin and tight, her eyes cold and glaring. In fact, everyone in the room is glaring at him. He could see the hunger in their eyes, how they wished they were the one to hit the so-called untouchable Richard Strand. An injured wolf among angry pack members. They’re ready to tear him alive at their leader’s command. But no death orders come.

They stop the bleeding, they give him some pain-killers and an ice pack to hold, and they tell him to stay in the waiting room until Alex feels better. They’ll try to save the recording the best they can. Then the interns leave him, muttering and mumbling to themselves. Birds. They remind him of birds, moving and speaking as one giant feathery mass, giant birds with black feathers and gravelly cries.

_What an asshole. Can you believe that man? The nerve of him. Bastard. Asshole. Pompous git. Who does he think he is talking to Alex like that? What I’d give- Oh what I’d give - I’d give-_

Strand leans back in his seat, resting his head on the plain wall. He watches the show an intern was watching before the commotion. Just bad news all over being told by a reporter. She looked like Alex, with the short brown hair and dark eyes. She spoke easily and clearly, she gave no sign of strain or worry.

He wished speaking was easy, he thought before he let sleep take him, the pain slowly fading. He dreams that he kept his mouth shut and that Alex trusted and believed in him wholeheartedly. He dreams the fight never happened and that when he wakes up, he will find himself in his office drinking tea, with Alex sitting on his desk, reading a book he gave her while drinking the coffee he bought for her. Nothing would be wrong. He could speak easy and most importantly of all, Alex would be happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Since no one punched Strand in the finale (what a pity), consider this my attempt to rectify this error. I should be writing a paper due next Wednesday. It can wait, punching jerks in the face is a higher priority.


End file.
